As most of you are already aware, in order to avoid extraordinary rate increases in our health benefits, CWA and the other unions representing state workers have negotiated some changes to our health insurance plans. You have probably received, and will continue to receive, more information about those plan changes.

The changes to the health insurance & the tight timeframe required will force the state to hold two open enrollments for health insurance benefits. One has already begun and will run through October 31, 2025. This regular open enrollment period will allow you to change both medical and dental coverage, add and drop dependents, as well as set up contributions to your Flexible Spending Account (FSA). The second special open enrollment period has not yet been scheduled, but, with a few exceptions, most of the changes we’ve negotiated to our healthcare coverage will not go into effect until after this second open enrollment takes place.

To avoid any unnecessary confusion, CWA is recommending that anyone thinking about changing their health insurance plans due to the upcoming changes not make any changes to their coverage during this first open enrollment period and instead wait until the special open enrollment period is scheduled.

Members who need to make changes like adding a dependent or who had already planned on switching plans for next year can feel free to make those selections during October, so they can go into effect at the beginning of 2026. Those who wish to change their dental coverage or set up an FSA account for 2026 must do so during the month of October, as the special open enrollment period will not allow for making those changes.

Please be aware, that if you log into Benefitsolver to make health plan changes, it is possible that you will see inaccurate information about the health plans or their costs. There will be no increase in the premium members pay in 2026.

If you have any questions or are unsure if you should make changes now or wait, please contact CWA Local 1031’s Healthcare Ombudsperson, Roman Sohor, at healthcarequestions@cwa1031.org. We will also be continuously updating our website at https://www.cwa1031.org/members/health with the latest information about plan changes and open enrollment schedules.

Our branches will be hosting informational meetings throughout the month of October to allow our members to better understand the coming changes, ask questions, and learn how we got here, so please keep an eye on your emails or contact your branch president or shop steward for more information on those sessions.